Apparatus for the treatment of the urethra



July 24, 1934. w MQNAHAN 1,967,318

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF THE URETHRA Filed Oct. 2, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l gwuentoz July 24, 1934. w, N A 1,967,318

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF THE URETHRA FiledOct. 2, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwuento'o )4/i/l/am Monaha n Patented July 24, 1934 PATENT ormer:

LAPrAaA'rlUs For. The TR ATMENT or THE.

URE

THRA

William Monahan, Tacoma, Wash. Application October 2', 1931, Serial No 567,087

3 Claims: (CL 128-422?) This invention relates especially to devices for the treatment of diseases of the urethra, andhas for its objects to; provide means whereby the medicament,: with which the urethra is being treatedymay be periodicallychanged. or renewed therein without either removing the" apparatus or inserting: any additional medicine therein; to providvmeans for insuring that the medicine reaches a certain distance up the urethra; to provide means to reduce 1 or increase the air pressure within the urethratochange'theimediclnethere in; to: provide meansfor distending or dilating the portion. of theurethra: being treated, thereby preventing the diseased sides thereof-from con"- i tacting with other parts and thus spreading the disease, and also stretching the diseased area and therefore permitting a larger medicinal contact therewith; to provide means foradjusting such dilating means thereby enabling asingleappara- J hrs to take the place ofseveral: devicesof slightly different sizes; to provide a means whereby the urethra may be 1 irrigated; to provide an apparatus which may be continuously worn and will provide a continuous treatment of the diseased parts, thereby reducing the'time required fortreatment; and to provide anapparatus which may be selfapplied, and-which is'simple to operate and effec tive in use;

I attain these and other objects by the apparatus, devices, mechanismsand arrangements illustrated in which-# I i Fig; l is a vertical section of the simplest form of my apparatusin use; Fig;f2 is a top'plan-view thereof, drawn toa larger scale; Fig. 3' is a -transverse intermediate section thereof; Fig.- 4" is a side elevation of the header cap'thereof; Fig; 5 is a longitudinal section of such cap thereof; Fig. 6

the accompanying drawings, in

is a bottom planviewpf'the-basethereof; Fig; 7-

is a side elevation of thebase thereof; Fig. B -is-a partial'view, similar tojFig. 1 showin'gfa'means of adjustably distending the apparatus; Figs 9 aiid 'lO are side elevationand transverse section of the lower portion ofa variation in the apparatus; Figs.11 and12are views similar to Fig. 10,

showing variationsin the form or shape of the dilator; and Fig. 13' isa view showing the dilator in use as an irrigator.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Heretofore the application of medicament to the inner surface of the urethra has, of necessity, been applied thereto for but a comparatively short time, duringthe time that the patient could be attended to by the doctor, with the result that,

upon the" withdrawal of the instrument used to dilate the urethra, its sides contract again" and comeinto'closecontact and the'eifect of the medicine, which is no longer present to any greater:- tent, is soon lost and the disease continues to advance bysuch contact.

In this-inventionI attach the dilator to the penis, thusholdingit in place in the urethra, and surround the penis with a liquid-tight bag or chamber, similar to a small urinal, containing the-medicine, and conduct the air in the urethra away from a point above the infected-part by means of an air pipe, forming-part of the dilator, thus causing the medicine to enter and continuously bathe: the diseased internal surface-of the urethra. Such apparatus may be worn'substantially'continuously by the patient, the bag" alone being removed for urination, and thus keepsthe' urethra constantly dilated and'in contact with itsmedicine, Further, by attaching a small bulb to theairpipe, above-referredto, and'contracting said bulb,-the pressure of the air in theurethra, above the medicine, causes all the medicine'to be driven out intothe bag and then, on the release of the bulb, the air pressure is-reduced and new m'edicinei's'returned from the bag into the urethra, thus permitting the patient to, himself, periodically renew the medicine acting on the diseased parts and greatly enhancing the effect of the medicine on the diseased part. Further, mydevioemaybeself applied, after proper instruction', and the patient may periodically renew themedicine in the bag, as required, and continue the treatment, day and night, with but occasional inspection by the doctor. Further, in some forms of myinvention, the dilator is adjustable, thus permitting asingle instrument totake the place of several of different sizes; In the drawings, I have shown the simplest form of my invention, together with several variations thereof. I

Referring tothe'drawings, it will be seen that" my apparatus comprises an outer bag 1 adapted to contain the supply of medicine. This ba g'lis strapped tojthe body of the patient, with the penis therein, and is-similar in form to 'a small urinal. The bag 1 may be made of rubbenor-any other suitable material. A small flexible tube 2, preferably of rubber, passes into the bag 1, either through its surface, as shown, or through its orifice. The outer end of this rubber tube 2 may be open near the bag 1, or it may be continued to any convenient place and may have a small rubber bulb 3 attached to its outer end. The inner bag 1, to the end of the central pipe of my dilator, as hereinafter described.

The dilator comprises a cap or head 4, adapted to be thrust into the urethra, beyond the diseased area, and which may conveniently be constructed of suitable metal, or other substance, and which may be fenestrated by suitable openings 5 to permit air connection between the parts of the urethra above and below the said cap 4.

The cap 4 forms the upper end of the body of the dilator, which preferably comprises a cagea suitable spider '7, as shown in Fig. 6, or a perforated plate 8, as shown in Fig.8, and holds "the said wires 6 in separated position as shown.

A central pipe 9 extends through the base and: upward through the cap 4 and forms the back- The lower end bone or stiffener for the dilator. of this pipe 9 is bent at right-angles, as at 10, and is adapted to receive the inner end of the abovedescribed tube 2, thus connecting the air in the upper part of the urethra, above the diseased area, with theoutside or with the bulb 3, asdescribed.

The body of the dilator may also be made of a tube 11, as shown in Fig. 9, said tube 11 being provided withslots or holes 12 therein to permit the medicine to have easy access to the diseased parts. This tube 11 may be cylindrical in crosssection (Fig. 10), or quadrilateral (Fig- 11), in which case the slots 12 would be, intheflat sides thereof, or corrugated (Fig. 12), in which case also the said slots would be at the'parts removed from contact with the wall of the urethra. 1

When the dilator is to be adjustable in diameter, the central tube 9 preferably extends slight-'- ly beyond the top of the cap 4 and is not secured thereto but may slide therethrough, without turning. The tube 9 is provided with a screw,- threaded enlargement 13 (Fig. 8) where it passes freely through the base of the body of the dilator. A nut 14 is screwed thereon into contact withthe said base; The said pipe 9 is connected to the wires 6 forming the body, at points intermediate, between the cap and the base, by means of suitable inclined links 15. Thus'when the nut 14 draws the pipe 9 down, relatively to the base,

then the links 15 act as toggle bars and spread.

nected to an irrigation system comprising a tube 16 leading from the lower end of the pipe 9 to a reservoir 17, containing the cleansing liquid.

' Whenthe valve 18 in the tube ,16 is opened the liquid flows out of the end of the pipe 9 into the upper part of the urethra and thence out through the dilator, thus providing a continuous stream through the passage.

- Having,

Thus it will be seen that my invention provides a douche for the internal diseased portion of the urethra by permitting the escape of the air from above the said part and thus allowing the surrounding medicine, in which the penis is immersed, to flow upward therein to a point substantially at the same level as in the bag 1. It also permits the said medicine to be ejected from the urethra and fresh medicine to be drawn thereinto, and it also provides a means of irrigating the urethra. like construction of four parallel wires 6, leading from the cap 4 to the base. This base rnay be It is to be understood that many changes may bemade inthe details of my invention, as above described, without departing from the spirit thereof as outlined in the appended claims.

therefore, described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:-

1.,An internal urethra bath comprising a port- 'able bag adapted to be strapped on the patient and to enclose the infected member and to contain a liquid medicine; a dilator positioned within said bag and adapted to open the urethra to permit the medicine to enter and bathe its inner surface; a head formed on said dilator and having air passages therethrough; anair pipe extendingthroughsaid dilator and dilator head; and a flexible tube entering said bag and connected at its inner end to the lower end of said pipe, whereby the air in the urethra, above said dilator, is connected to the outside through the liquid in said bag to permit the medicine to enter the urethrato substantially. the. same level as in the bag. Y

, 2. Aninternal'urethra bath comprising a portable bag adapted to be strapped on the patient and toenclose the infected member and to containa liquid medicine;-a dilator positioned within said bag and adapted to open the urethra to permit the medicine to enter and bathe its inner surfaceya head formed on said dilator and having air passages therethrough; an air pipe extending through said dilator and dilator head; a flexible .tube entering said bag and connected at its inner end to the lower end of said pipe; and a resilient hollow bulb connected to the outer end of said tube, whereby the air pressure in the urethra, above said dilator, may be increased to force out the medicine in the urethra and then decreased to draw in new medicine therein from the bag. p

3. A urethral dilator comprising a central stiff member; a cap carried by said stiff member; a dilating member surrounding said stifi member and attached to said cap and adapted to provide access of the medicine therein to the inner surface of the urethra; a base member carried by said stiff member and attached to said dilating member; means adapted to adjustably move the dilating member relatively tothe stiff member; and means positioned between the cap and the base and connecting said dilating member to said stiff member, whereby when said adjustable means forces said relative movement in one diits rection the dilating member is expanded in diameter. v

. WILLIAM MONAHAN. 

